Wagon-tongue lock



(No Model.) I I C. G. ANDREWS.

, WAGON TONGUE LOOK. No. 396,189. Patented Jan. 15, 1889.

' 11v VEJVTOR.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHANCY ANDRE\VS, OF NOTTAlVA, MICHIGAN.

WAGON-TONGUE LOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 396,189, dated January 15, 1889.

Application filed June 30, 1888.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OHANCY C. ANDREWS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Nottawa, in the county of St. Joseph and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in \Vagon-Locks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to a device for preventing lateral vibrations of the wagon-tongue when the front wheels come in contact with an obstacle in the roadway, so that the horses will not become injured from being struck with the tongue.

The object of my invention is to provide mechanism which will be much more simple, cheap, and durable than that hitherto in use.

\Vith these ends in view my invention consists in the peculiar features and combination of parts more fully described hereinafter, and pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a plan of my complete device; Fig. 2, a front perspective view,'showing the tongue slightly turned and in the act of unlocking the front axle.

The tongue B is pivoted at a to the front cross-brace, b, of the hounds D D, and its short arm B plays laterally between the blocks (Z (l, which blocks taper as they extend rearward to form the space 6, in which said end plays. A horizontal rod, E, extends through the hounds D D, blocks (1 d, and short arm B of the tongue, and this rod is provided withstops .g g to limit the play of the tongue. These stops g g consist of nuts which can be turned on the thread 71, so that the stops can be regulated to allow any desired amount of play for the tongue. The rear end of the tongue is provided with a projection, q, which fits in the recess 9" in the center of a bar, 0, which is ar ranged to be reciprocated horizontally in the staples K upon the hounds D D. This reciprocating bar might be passed through apertures in the hounds or placed in any suitable guides instead of the staples. Said bar 0 is provided with a pair of elongated apertures, Z, which extend vertically through it.

b I) represent a pair of horizontal rods or levers, which pass through and, rotate in the head-block s and brace-bar f. Thefront ends, an, of these rods l) b are bent downward and confined within the apertures Z in the bar 0. The rear endsmz m, of the rods l) l) are bent at right angles toward each other and thence inward through the locking-latches 0 o, pivoted to the rods 1) Z),whichlatches operate in avertical plane in the elon gated opening 2) through the upper portion of the brace-bar t.

The usual reach, IV, extends through the elongated opening X in the brace-hart. The ends on m pass through that part of the latches which extends above the brace-bar, and the bar thus holds the latches in operative position. The recess r in the reciprocating bar 0 is formed by lugs i, the object being to form a loose connection between the end B of. the tongue and bar. In order to prevent undue wear upon the reach by the operation of the latches, the former is provided with a pair of shield-plates, y, made of any suitable metal.

It is desirable that the free ends of the pivoted locking-latches should be weighted in order to facilitate their descent into locking adjustment, and for this reason I have by preference given them an approximate wedge shape, as will be seen more clearly in Fig. 2.

The body portions of the rear ends of the rods or rock-shafts b I) pass loosely through the light ends of the latches, and. their ends m m are bent and passed loosely through the upper part of the weighted ends. By this construction a greater leverage is obtained than if the body portions of the rock-shafts were rigidly connected to the light ends of the latches.

The way in which I prefer to construct my invention having been set forth, I will now proceed to describe its operation.

\Yhen one of the wheels 1} comes in contactwith an obstacle in the roadway, its axle is prevented from turning by the latches 0 o,which normally hold the hounds D D and crossbraces b t, forming the fifth-wheel Z, in such a position that the axle A will be substantially at right angles to the reach IV, as shown in Fig. 1. As shown more clearly in Fig. 2,when lateral power is exerted upon tongue B the short arm B moves in the opposite direction and slides the rod 0, which carries with it the crank or end 11, located in aperture 0, and rotates the rock-shaft 7), thereby elevating its opposite end, in, which lifts latch 0 and allows the fifth-wheel to turn upon its king-bolt \Vhen pressure is brought to bear on the tongue in an opposite direction, the reverse operation takes place, the rod 1) just described remaining still,while its companion, b, raises the latch 0. Thus the rotative rods alternately lift the latches 0 0 to allow the front axle or fifth-wheel to turn in the direction given by t overcome, thus rendering the parts more durable.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. In a wagon-lock, a pivoted tongue and movable bar engaged thereby, in combination with a rock-shaft having one end engaged by said bar and the other end provided with a locking-latch, substantially as described.

2. 111 a wagon-lock, a fifth-wheel and pi voted tongue, in combination with rock-shafts provided with locking-latches, substantially as described.

3. The combination of a fifth-wheel provided with a pivoted tongue, a horizontal bar pass ing through the tongue and provided with stops upon opposite sides thereof, a reciprocating bar, a pair of rock-shafts engaged by said bar, and locking-latch es operated by said shafts, all arranged and adapted to operate substantially as described.

4. In combination with the fifth-wheel and tongue, a pair of rock-shafts having lockinglatches pivoted thereon, and having their heavier free ends also pivotally connected to the bent ends of the shafts, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHANCY 0. ANDREWS. lVitnesses:

W. A. URANDALL, H. P. STEW'ART. 

